ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

A cosmopolitan outlook against autarky: Enriques, Castelnuovo and the National Institute for the History of Science (1923-1938)

• In Event: Shifting Perspectives in Historiography of Science under the Fascist Rule 1

English Abstract

Based on unpublished archival sources, this paper reconstructs the activities of the Istituto
Nazionale di Storia delle Scienze in Rome, founded by Federigo Enriques in 1923. Enriques
directed the Institute until the advent of the racial laws, when Francesco Severi replaced him (1939), marking the institution’s decline.
Through the Institute and the annexed Scuola, Enriques promoted a historiographical vision aimed at fostering a “scientific humanitas” and training teachers, distinct from the coeval autarkic trends. His cosmopolitan outlook is evidenced by international partnerships (G. De Santillana, P. Libois, H. Metzger, F. Gonseth) and his direction of two sections of the French Actualités scientifiques et industrielles. Enriques’ commitment to avoiding cultural isolation is further demonstrated by his major works, such as the Compendio di storia del pensiero scientifico (1937, with De Santillana) and Le matematiche nella storia e nella cultura (1938). His editorial series Per la storia e la filosofia delle matematiche prioritized critical editions of classics (Euclid, Archimedes, Bombelli, Galileo, …) and notably featured contributions from female scholars like M.T. Zapelloni, M. Lombardini and R. Struik.
This open cultural approach was shared by Guido Castelnuovo, a key collaborator on the series.
By analysing Enriques and Castelnuovo’s contributions in the field of modern and contemporary history of mathematics, this paper illustrates how both scholars navigated the period’s shifting perspectives, valorising Italian mathematical traditions within a broader European context before the 1938 racial laws forced their removal.

Author

• Elena Scalambro, Università degli Studi di Torino